. We are dreadfully responsible; these vivid atrocities are the product of the civilisation we have helped to make and which so often we blindly enjoy. 9/11 was a terrible holocaust. Undoubtably, but of our own creating. We are not innocent. Those twin towers reaching serene and beautiful up into the blue sky were nevertheless a veneer, almost an affluent sneer cocked towards the Third, Fourth and Fifth Worlds in which two-thirds of the world’s population live. For within those sleek walls the most vicious deals of a cut-throat competitive culture were taking place hour after hour, staffed by people from all over the Western world. The Twin Towers were also a symbol of the sophisticated violence of greed which one part of the world practises on another and which inevitably slides into the blatant disregard of basic human dignities which Iraq has exposed: it is but a step from the one to the other. This is at the centre of each of our lives, there is no escape from this, protest as we may that we are decent, law-abiding human beings who seek to love our neighbour.
The shaming of the western world. It reveals the little hitlers in us all just below the surface and the Big Hitler on standby, lurking, alive and well. Iraq reveals the true cancer of our civilisation and the sad fact is that one in three families experience cancers as a living reality, surface symptoms which catch us unawares. There is a direct line between the vast wealth- making machine of the western world which we accumulate -profit, more profit, raise the quality of life at any cost -and the flagrant torture and abuse of prisoners. Self-righteous, rampant competition ultimately eats the heart out of the human soul. We now have incontrovertible evidence.
As humankind we are very immature, very untamed. A recent T. V. programme on Lee-on-Solent showed local residents almost unanimously in favour of keeping refugees, exiles, asylum seekers out of an empty naval building the government proposed to use to house them. Reasons -they will cause disturbance on the streets, burgle our houses, reduce their value, threaten our jobs, rape our daughters. Fear. Lee-on-Solent may seem a long way away, but in the late 1980s, on an Egremont housing estate the probation service proposed to have a half-way house for ex-prisoners, people trying to make their way back into society . At a public meeting, some 80 voted against it, three or four in favour Reasons -they will cause disturbance on the streets, burgle our houses, reduce their value, threaten our jobs, rape our daughters.
Violence breeds fear, the violence of unbridled wealth breeds fear: fear in those who don't have it, fear in those who do that it will be taken away. Arrogant fear is at the heart of this brutality . We all know that the vast resources of wealth being spent day after day on the war in Iraq could have brought untold relief and gladness and happiness to an impoverished people stunted by years of tyranny. We could have been so generous, but we are afraid. Of doing with less. And the politicians are afraid too. We all know the way the world, we, have to go if we are to survive and remake the world. It's no use shrugging our shoulders helplessly and saying what can I do? What I can do is learn to change. We can learn to change, we are not animals. It's the learning to change that's difficult because I have some hard lessons to confront. I simply have to persevere and not be put off by my failures which occur again and again.
Recognising my failures against the rest of humankind and constantly being prepared to accept them is the best way to learn, and start to heal the world. Be alert to failures, don't make excuses, and step by slow step learn to avoid them.
The wisdom of the Cherokee Indian (which is also Christian wisdom) says this:- "When we let dawn our guard; habit is waiting to reclaim its territory. It seems innocent and it is so familiar that we seldom suspect what teeth it has! Once we decide to change something, we can't expect to do it in one great sweep. What has taken us over by such tiny degrees must be edged out the same way. The fact that we are taking small steps does not minimize a very great commitment. Little by little, we reform our habits, making sure we leave no void for any other bad habit to fill ".
And I like this Autobiography in Five Chapters by Nyoshul Khenpo - it encourages me.
1. I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost. I am hopeless. It isn't my fault. It takes forever to find a way out.

2. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I'm in the same place. But it isn't my fault. It still takes a long time to get out.

3. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it is there. I still fall in - it's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault. I get out immediately.

4. I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I walk around it.

5. I walk down another street.